Skip loading apparatus



Sept. 4, 1962 J. w. CLARK 3,052,384

SKIP LOADING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1959 3 SheetsSheet 1 INVENTOR. JAMES W. CLARK ylmazmzcwi ATTORNEY Sept. 4, 1962 J. w. CLARK SKIP LOADING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 9, 1959 INVENTOR.

JAMES W. CLARK ATTORNEY Sept. 4, 1962 J. w. CLARK SKIP LOADING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed NOV. 9, 1959 FIG. 4-

K R R U ma N N L R w WMM S E M AMU Y B Unite fitates Patent 3,052,384 SKIP LOADING APPARATUS James W. Clark, Iron Mountain, Mich, assignor to Lake Shore, Inc., Iron Mountain, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Nov. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 851,614 8 Claims. (Cl. 222-450) This invention relates to skip loading apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for loading a given volume of material into a skip. Apparatus of this type must often be capable of handling large amounts of material of tremendous weight. It is desirable, therefore, that the equipment be designed to handle the material smoothly with a minimum amount of stress on the parts to prevent damage to the equipment or the supporting framework. It is also desirable in apparatus of this type that the material be dumped into the skip with a minimum amount of spillage.

It is the object of this invention, therefore, to provide apparatus which is capable of handling large amounts of material smoothly and without damage to the equipment and which will dump a given volume of such material into a skip or similar receptacle with a minimum amount of spillage.

Apparatus embodying this invention includes a loading bin having a loading outlet in the bottom portion thereof and a measuring pocket mounted at the loading outlet and adapted to receive material from the bin. The measuring pocket has a dumping outlet through which the contents are dumped into a receptacle such as a skip. A loading door between the bin and pocket is adapted when closed to block the outlet and prevent flow from the bin to the pocket. A dumping door mounted at the dumping outlet is adapted to shut said outlet when the pocket is being filled from the loading bin and to open and dump the contents of the pocket after the pocket is filled and the loading door has been closed. An open space is provided in the pocket above the normal angle of repose of the material in the pocket when filled. The loading door is slidably mounted for movement across the loading outlet so that the material displaced by the door will be forced into the open space provided in the pocket to thereby permit the door to be closed without undue force being applied thereto and Without causing the displaced material to be spilled over the sides of the pocket.

The dumping door is actuated by any suitable means such as a pneumatic cylinder by the action of a toggle mechanism of novel design. The toggle mechanism is designed to hold the door in a locked position when closed against the weight of the contents in the pocket and when actuated to open the door will swing the door open rapidly to provide a smooth dump with a minimum of stress on the parts.

The pneumatic cylinder for actuating the toggle mechanism is provided with a cushioning means operative in response to the opening movement of the door and adapted to trap air in the cylinder and thus cushion the final stages of the opening movement of the mechanism as it is forced to the fully open position by the tremendous: weight of the contents being dumped.

To bridge the gap between the pocket and skip and thus prevent spillage, a pivotally mounted chute operable in response to the opening of the door is provided. As the door opens the chute is swung out from the pocket to a position whereby it cooperates with the door to provide a continuous angled surface over which the contents will flow smoothly from the pocket into the opening in the top of the skip. When the dumping door is closed the chute is swung back out of the line of travel of the skip.

Other objects and advantages will be pointed out in,

2 or be apparent from the specification and claims, as will obvious modifications of the single embodiment shown in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a loading apparatus embodying the invention with the loading door open and the dumping door closed;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but with the loading door closed and the dumping door open;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the loading apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the loading apparatus embodying the invention includes a loading bin 10 which communicates with a skip 12 through a measuring pocket 14. In a mine installation, for example, the loading apparatus is installed in a concrete cavity 16 at the junction of a mine lateral and the mine shaft in which skip 12 is hoisted and lowered on a wire rope (not shown).

The ore mined from the lateral is dumped into the open top of bin It having bottom portions 18 and 20 which slope to a loading outlet 22. The ore flows from the bin through outlet 22 into measuring pocket 14 and Will gradually fill the pocket and back up into the bin. The normal angle of repose of the ore in pocket 14 is indicated by the dotted line (FIG. 1) identified by reference numeral 24. To block the flow of ore from bin 10 to pocket 14, a loading door 25 is slidably mounted for movement across opening 22 by guide frames 26. Door 25 can be actuated by any suitable means such as a pneumatic cylinder 28, as shown. A space 30 is provided above the normal angle of repose 24 of the ore (by extending the walls of pocket 14 above such angle) so that there is an open space into which the ore displaced by the closing of door 25 can be forced to thereby permit the door to be closed without undue force being applied thereto and without causing the displaced material to be spilled over the sides of the pocket.

After pocket 14 has been filled and door 25 closed by actuation thereof from the position shown in FIG. 1 to that shown in FIG. 2, the contents of the pocket are dumped into skip 12 through a dumping outlet 34 at the lowermost portion of pocket 14, by dumping apparatus of the following description.

Such apparatus includes a dumping door 32 pivotally mounted by a pivot 36 along the bottom edge of dump outlet 34. Door 32 is actuated by a pneumatic cylinder 33 having an actuating piston rod 39 connected to toggle mechanism 42. Cylinder 38 is pivotally mounted on stationary support brackets 40 and its piston rod 39 is operatively connected to the door by toggle mechanism 42. The toggle mechanism includes a rigid arm 44 pivotally connected at one end to a bracket 46 fastened to the end of piston rod 39 and at the other end to a pair of stationary support brackets 48 at pivot points 49. Mechanism 42 further includes a pair of links 50 pivotally connected between arm 44 (at pivot points 51) and the underside of dumping door 32 (at pivot points 53) and operates as follows.

When door 32 is in its closed position (piston rod 39 extended) the various parts of toggle mechanism 42 will be positioned as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. Rigid arm 44 is swung out against a stop member 52 which is positioned so that the pivot points 51 between arm 44 and link 50 will lie on the door closing side (to the left as viewed in FIG. 1) of an imaginary line 55 (shown as a dotted line) between the pivot points 49 between arm 44 and bracket 48 and the pivot points 53 between links 50 and door 32. Thus, it is seen that the force component (due to the weight of the contents on the inside of door 32) acting to pivot arm 44 on bracket 48 will be in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1 and will 33 thereby be absorbed by stop 52. Thus, door 32. will be held tightly in its closed position with no forces acting on the mechanism tending to move the parts in the door opening direction.

To open door 32 and dump the contents of pocket 14, cylinder 38 is energized to retract piston rod 39 to the right into the cylinder. As the piston rod is retracted the toggle mechanism 42 will act to very slowly open door 32 in its initial movement and thereafter very rapidly open the door in the later stages of the dumping action. This quick opening action reduces the stresses on the mechanism caused by the tremendous weight of material which pours from pocket 14 at each dump. Furthermore, this arrangement whereby the load being dumped aids in opening the door substantially reduces the cylinder size and air required for actuation of the mechanism.

To further reduce the shock delivered to the dumping mechanism when the pocket is dumped, a means is provided for cushioning the opening movement of piston rod 39 in pneumatic cylinder 38. Such means includes a control valve 54- mounted on top of the cylinder and a cam member 56 slidably mounted on the cylinder and fastened to bracket 46 mounted at the end of the piston rod. Thus, as piston rod 39 is actuated to open the door, a cam surface 58 on member 56 will actuate a plunger 59 on valve 54 to thereby shut the valve and stop the flow of air in discharge line 61 from the right-hand end of cylinder 38. The air trapped in the cylinder will act to cushion the force of piston rod 39 which, in the later stages of its opening movement, is moving under the tremendous force exerted by the weight of the material pouring from the pocket.

To minimize spillage and provide a smooth flow of material from the pocket to skip 12, a pivoted chute 60 is provided which cooperates with door 32 to accomplish these important objectives. Chute 6t) has a pair of quadrant-shaped side skirts 64 and a bottom section 66 mounted between the lower edges of the skirts and door 32 is provided with side skirts 62. The chute is mounted for swinging movement between the position shown in FIG. 1 and that shown in FIG. 2 by means of a rod 63 mounted across the front of pocket 14 at the upper edge of dump outlet 34. The chute is actuated by means of a pair of links 70 pivotally connected between door 32 and chute 60 as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, as door 32 is swung open by toggle mechanism 42 as previously described, chute 6%) will be swung from the FIG. l to the FIG. 2 position by the action of links 70. With the door 3-2 and chute 60 in the FIG. 2 position, the door and bottom section 66 of the chute cooperate to form a continuous angled surface over which the material dumped from the pocket slides smoothly into skip 12. It is noted that in the dumping position the front edge 72 of chute bottom 66 has moved into the loading opening 74 of the skip to thereby bridge the gap between the normal line of travel of the skip and the dumping structure to thereby prevent spillage from the front edge of the chute into the shaft. Spillage over the sides of the door and chute bottom is prevented by skirts 62 and 64 on door 32 and chute 60, respectively, which assume an overlapping relationship in the dumping position shown in FIG. 2. After the dump is completed, the closing of door 32 will cause chute 66 to be swung back to the FIG. 1 position out of the line of travel of the skip to permit vertical movement of the skip without interference with the chute.

It is noted that stop member 52 is mounted on the bottom section 66 of chute 60. While it is not essential that stop 52 be so mounted, this arrangement permits the stop to be fabricated as part of the dumping door and chute assembly and thereby makes installation easier than if the stop were permanently installed in the concrete reinforced cavity 16, for example.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appard ent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or .from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Loading apparatus for discharging material through a dumping outlet of a storage bin comprising the combination of, a bin having a dumping outlet, a door pivotally mounted at said outlet adapted when closed to block said outlet against the weight of the material in the bin, toggle mechanism operatively connected to said door adapted when actuated to move said door between open and closed positions, actuator means operatively connected to said toggle mechanism and adapted to actuate said toggle mechanism to open and close said door, and cushioning means for said actuator means adapted to cushion the movement of said door and toggle mechanism as it moves to the open position under the force exerted on the door by the weight of the material in the bin, said actuator means including a pneumatic cylinder and said cushioning means including a cam actuated control valve for said cylinder operable in response to the opening of said door and adapted when actuated to produce a counter-pressure in said cylinder opposing the door opening movement thereof.

2. Loading apparatus according to claim 1 in which said cushioning means further includes an air discharge conduit communicating with said cylinder and having said control valve mounted therein, said control valve adapted when actuated by the movement of said door to close said conduit and trap air in said cylinder to provide the desired cushioning action.

3. Skip loading apparatus comprising, a loading bin having a loading outlet in the bottom portion thereof, a measuring pocket mounted at said loading outlet and adapted to receive material from said loading bin, a dumping outlet in the lower portion of said pocket, a loading door at said loading outlet adapted to block said outlet and prevent flow from said bin to said pocket when said door is moved to its closed position, a dumping door mounted at said dumping outlet adapted to shut said outlet while said pocket is being filled from said loading bin and to open and dump the contents of said pocket after the pocket is filled and the loading door closed, and a chute pivotally mounted at said dumping outlet adapted when said dumping door is opened to swing outwardly from said pocket to a position whereby it will bridge the gap between the pocket and a skip to prevent spillage into the space between the pocket and the skip, said dumping door being pivotally mounted at the lower edge of said dumping outlet and adapted to swing downwardly and outwardly when opened into overlapping relationship with said chute to provide a continuous angled surface over which the contents of said pocket will slide smoothly into the skip.

4. Skip loading apparatus according to claim 3 in which said chute and dumping door are provided with vertical side skirts which cooperate when the parts are in the open position to prevent spillage over the sides of said door and chute.

5. Loading apparatus for discharging material from a dumping outlet of a storage bin into a skip or other receptacle comprising the combination of, a bin having a dumping outlet in the lower portion thereof, a door pivotally mounted at the lower edge of said outlet and adapted to control flow from said bin through said outlet, toggle mechanism operatively connected to said door adapted when actuated to move said door between open and closed positions, actuator means operatively connected to said toggle mechanism and adapted to actuate said toggle mechanism to open and close said door, said toggle mechanism including a rigid arm pivotally mounted at a fixed point and operatively connected to said actuator means for actuation thereby between a door opening and a door closing position, a link pivotally connected between said door and said arm and adapted to open and close said door as said arm is pivoted about said fixed pivot point by said actuator means, and a stop member adapted to engage said arm as said arm is swung to its door closing position, said stop member positioned so that when said door is fully closed the pivot point between said arm and said link lies on the door closing side of an imaginary line drawn between the fixed pivot point at which said arm is mounted and the pivot point between said link and said door, and a chute pivotally mounted at the upper edge of said dumping outlet, said chute operatively connected to said door and adapted to swing outwardly from said bin when said door is opened to carry the contents of the him from the pocket into a skip or other receptacle and thereby prevent spillage of the contents into the space between the pocket and the skip, said actuator means including a pneumatic cylinder and a control valve for said cylinder actuated in response to the opening movement of said door, said valve adapted when actuated to trap air in said pneumatic cylinder to cushion the door opening movement of the apparatus as it moves to open position under the force exerted by the weight of the contents in the bin.

6. Loading apparatus for discharging material through a dumping outlet of a storage bin comprising, a bin having a dumping outlet, said outlet having upper and lower edges, a door pivotally mounted at said outlet, a chute pivotally mounted at said outlet and operatively connected to said door, said chute adapted to swing outwardly from said bin when said door is opened to carry the material dumped through said outlet smoothly into a receptacle without spillage, and actuator means operatively connected to said door and adapted to open and close said door, said door being pivotally mounted along the lower edge of said outlet for swinging movement downwardly and outwardly from said bin when opened, said chute being pivotally mounted along the upper edge of said outlet for swinging movement upwardly and outwardly from said bin upon opening of said door, the pivotal mountings of said door and chute at said outlet spaced so that when said door is opened it will swing into overlapping relationship with said chute to provide a continuous angled surface over which the contents of said bin will slide smoothly into a receptacle.

7. Loading apparatus for discharging material through a dumping outlet of a storage bin comprising the combination of, a bin having a dumping outlet, a door pivotally mounted at said outlet adapted when closed to block said outlet against the weight of the material in the bin, a pneumatic cylinder operatively connected to said door and adapted to open and close said door, control valve means for said cylinder adapted when actuated to produce a counter-pressure in said cylinder opposing the door opening movement thereof to thereby cushion the force exerted on said door by the weight of the material in said bin as said door is opened, and cam means operatively connected to said door and adapted to actuate said control valve means when said door is opened.

8. Loading apparatus according to claim 7 in which said control valve means includes an air discharge conduit from said cylinder and a valve located in said air discharge conduit, said valve when actuated adapted to close said conduit and trap air in said cylinder to provide the desired cushioning action.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 450,267 Walker Apr. 14, 1891 802,970 Caracristi Oct. 31, 1905 1,228,833 Schnuck et a1. June 5, 1917 1,692,374 Jaeger Nov. 20, 1928 1,820,615 Gwynne Aug. 25, 1931 2,019,502 Osgood Nov. 5, 1935 2,088,977 Scholler et al. Aug. 3, 1937 2,488,257 Anderson Nov. 15, 1949 2,723,058 Gardes Nov. 8, 1955 

